Weekly ideas to stimulate reflection, inspire new possibilities and encourage new ways of doing and being.
1. Test the water
This week’s word is: Context
Context refers to the circumstances, conditions, or settings in which something exists or occurs. It often includes the background, environment, or framework that surrounds and gives meaning to an event, statement, or idea.
The term context originates from the Latin word contextus, from con ‘together’ + texere ‘to weave’.
What is your definition of context and how do you relate to it? Discuss the question here.
2. Experience the initial wave
To broaden your perspective, take few minutes to read the following thoughts and notice what comes up for you.
I.
“Without context, words and actions have no meaning at all”. Gregory Bateson
II.
“Separate text from context and all that remains is a con”. Stewart Stafford
III.
Nora Bateson, author, educator and filmmaker, views context as a vital element in understanding complex systems. She suggests that context involves the relationships and interdependencies that shape any given situation or entity. Bateson emphasizes that nothing exists in isolation; rather, everything is the product of its relationships, meaning context is dynamic and continuously evolving. Her approach does not pull things out of context to study them in isolation, rather she focuses on transcontextual research, bringing multiple contexts into the inquiry process. Transcontextual is the way in which we come to live in multiple contexts simultaneously.
3. Dive deep
To deepen your awareness and spark new discoveries, this week I invite you to explore the connection between your identity and the contexts you navigate.
Write down the different contexts you are part of (e.g., family, work, community etc.). Describe how these environments influence your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions.
Reflect on how your identity has been shaped by these contexts. Consider aspects like your beliefs, values, and behaviors that may have been influenced by your surroundings.
Imagine a world where the typical structures and contexts are drastically different and align more with principles of mutual care, wellness and vitality. Describe this new world. How would your identity change if you lived in this new context? What aspects of your current self might not fit in, and what new aspects might emerge? What could you do now with this new sense of self?
4. Ride your radiant wave
The context produces possibilities. By experiencing different contexts new and unexpected possibilities emerge. This week I invite you spend some time every day doing something completely outside your usual areas of interest or expertise. This could be a change in your routine (e.g. taking a different route to work, changing your work environment or eating different types of food), engage with new people or learn something unfamiliar.
At the end of the week, review your observations and feelings about how changing contexts influenced your possibilities. How can you apply these lessons to continue creating and embracing new opportunities in your life?
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